AP News Guide: Fires blaze on 2 ends of California, kill 25

By The Associated Press| November 10, 2018 at 9:43 PM CST - Updated November 10 at 11:08 PM

PARADISE, California (AP) — Devastating wildfires on both ends of California pushed into new territory Saturday, as fatigued firefighters worked to evacuate residents in harm's way and contain blazes that already have claimed at least 25 lives, destroyed thousands of homes and other structures and scorched hundreds of square miles.

The three fires began Thursday — the largest in Northern California, where a Sierra Nevada town of 27,000 was destroyed by a fast moving-fire that quickly grew into the state's most destructive on record. In Southern California, two fires were burning in the drought-stricken canyons and hills north and west of downtown Los Angeles.

Here's a closer look:

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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Krystin Harvey, left, comforts her daughter Araya Cipollini at the remains of their home burned in the Camp Fire, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. The blaze that started Thursday outside the hilly town of Paradise has grown and destroyed more than 6,700 buildings, almost all of them homes, making it California's most destructive wildfire since record-keeping began. But crews have made gains and the fire is partially contained, officials said Saturday. (AP Photo/John Locher) (AP)

The death toll from the fire that quickly overwhelmed and incinerated the historic Northern California town of Paradise rose to 23 after 14 additional bodies were found Saturday. The victims have not been identified.

The fire became California's third deadliest since record-keeping began, with the death toll surpassing that from a blaze last year that ravaged the city of Santa Rosa.

In some cases, investigators have only been able to recover bones and bone fragments, he said. He encouraged family members of the missing to submit DNA samples that could be compared with remains that are recovered.

The charred remains of the burned out home are seen in Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Officials took advantage of temporarily calm conditions Saturday to assess damage from the blaze that's burned 109 square miles outside downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) (AP)

The fire, which grew to 156 square miles (404 square kilometers), destroyed more than 6,700 buildings, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Saturday. More than 50,000 people evacuated the area.

Officials say more than 3,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, which began Thursday in the hills near Paradise, about 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco. Pacific Gas & Electric Company told state regulators that it experienced a problem on an electrical transmission line near the site of the blaze minutes before the fire broke out. The company said it later observed damage to a transmission tower on the line.

Courtenay Jenvey walks by the melted remains of a jet ski at his home Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. Jenvey was able to save his house during the fire. (AP Photo/John Locher) (AP)

The utility said it will cooperate with any investigations, though a spokeswoman said Friday the information was preliminary and the cause of the fire has not been determined.

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In this Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 photo, smoke from the wildires fills the air in Malibu, Calif. Los Angeles County fire Chief Daryl Osby said Saturday that firefighters told him they were working in the toughest, most extreme conditions they had seen in their lives on Friday night. He says conditions are far better Saturday, with a lull in winds that are expected to return Sunday. (Courtesy of Ben Watkins via AP) (AP)

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Two people were found dead as a pair of wildfires stretched from inland canyons to the Pacific in Southern California on Saturday, leaving people sifting through the remains of both mansions and modest homes for anything they had left.

The two bodies were found severely burned inside a car on a long residential driveway in Malibu, Los Angeles County sheriff's Chief John Benedict said. The home is on a winding stretch of Mulholland Highway with steep panoramic views, where on Saturday the roadway was littered with rocks, a few large boulders and fallen power lines, some of them still on fire. Most of the surrounding structures were leveled.

Officials said 109 square miles (282 kilometers) had burned north and east of the city, including in Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars.

A firefighter keeps watch as the Woolsey Fire burns a home in Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. A Southern California wildfire continues to burn homes as it runs toward the sea. Winds are blamed for pushing the fire through scenic canyon communities and ridgetop homes. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) (AP)

Officials were taking advantage of calm conditions to try to contain the blaze before winds pick up again on Sunday.

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Araya Cipollini cries near the remains of her family's home burned in the Camp Fire, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. The blaze that started Thursday outside the hilly town of Paradise has grown and destroyed more than 6,700 buildings, almost all of them homes, making it California's most destructive wildfire since record-keeping began. But crews have made gains and the fire is partially contained, officials said Saturday. (AP Photo/John Locher) (AP)

TWIN TRAGEDIES

Just days after a gunman killed 12 people and himself at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks, California, many grieving residents were urged to evacuate as wildfires burning on both sides of the city shut down part of the main freeway to town.

Abandoned cars, scorched by the wildfire, line Pearson Rd. in Paradise, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Not much is left in Paradise after a ferocious wildfire roared through the Northern California town as residents fled and entire neighborhoods are leveled. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) (AP)

Some evacuees sheltered at a teen center that just a day earlier was where grieving family members had gathered to receive news on the fate of loved ones who had been in the Borderline Bar and Grill, where 28-year-old former Marine Ian David Long carried out an attack that shook a city that had been considered one of the safest in the nation.

"It's like 'welcome to hell,' " resident Cynthia Ball said of the back-to-back disasters.

A deer walks past a destroyed home on Orrin Lane after the wildfire burned through Paradise, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Not much is left in Paradise after a ferocious wildfire roared through the Northern California town as residents fled and entire neighborhoods are leveled. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) (AP)

Three-quarters of residents in the city of 130,000, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Los Angeles, were under evacuation orders — and that likely included people affected by the shooting, Thousand Oaks Mayor Andy Fox said.

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Park Billow, 27, sprays water on the hot spots in his backyard as the Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Authorities announced Friday that a quarter of a million people are under evacuation orders as wind-whipped flames rage through scenic areas west of Los Angeles and burn toward the sea. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) (AP)

CELEBRITIES FLEE

Hollywood celebrities were forced to flee as a devastating Southern California wildfire tore through mansions in the coastal community of Malibu.

A swimming pool is behind one burned home, with others at left, some of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (AP)

Actor Martin Sheen told Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV that the fire was the worst he has ever seen, and he expects that his house was destroyed.

The television station tracked down the "West Wing" actor after son Charlie Sheen tweeted Friday night that he had been unable to contact his parents. Martin Sheen gave a shoutout to his family to let them know he and his wife, Janet, were safe and planned to sleep in their car at the beach.

Glass and plastic melted from intense heat are seen on a car on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif.,Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey fire, it has consumed thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (AP)

Alyssa Milano tweeted Saturday that she was waiting to hear of her home's fate. On Friday she said she had gotten help to evacuate her horses and that her children were safe, but her house was "in jeopardy."

"I'm so sorry and my heart is with each of those who are impacted by this awful disaster," she tweeted Saturday.

Vehicles and a home are in ruins, one of at least 20 homes that were lost on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (AP)

Also left waiting was Caitlyn Jenner, whose hilltop home appeared intact when it was shot by a photographer for The Associated Press on Saturday morning. Jenner's representative noted that the Olympic gold medalist wouldn't know the extent of any damage to the home until she was allowed to return to it.

The entire coastal enclave of Malibu was ordered to flee, with Jenner's former step-daughter Kim Kardashian West, Lady Gaga and Guillermo del Toro among the other celebrities forced to abandon their homes.

A man who gave his first name as John, background, looks over the ruins of his home, one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (AP)

The Woolsey blaze also destroyed the home of "Dr. Strange" director Scott Derrickson and the historic Paramount Ranch where HBO's "Westworld" and many other shows have been filmed.

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These lawn figures of geese stand in the backyard of one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive, with a burned-over slope behind them, in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., aturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (AP)

Associated Press writers contributing to this story include Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles; Jonathan J. Cooper in Malibu; Lynn Elber in Los Angeles; Paul Elias and Gillian Flaccus in Paradise; Don Thompson in Chico; Olga R. Rodriguez and Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco; and Tammy Webber in Chicago.

Plants that have been seared by flames are seen on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (AP)